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May 29, 2008Child maltreatment victims lose 2 years of quality of life |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Child maltreatment is associated with reductions in quality of life even decades later, according to a new University of Georgia study that finds that---on average---victims lose at least two years of quality of life. UGA College of Public Health associate professor Phaedra Corso and her colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed surveys of more than 6,000 people to assess the deficits in quality of life that victims suffer. Childhood maltreatment---which includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect---has been linked to an increased risk for ailments ranging from heart disease, obesity and diabetes to depression and anxiety. Corso said few studies have examined the long-term impact of childhood maltreatment on quality of life, and, until now, none had been designed so that the measures can be used in comparative economic impact analyses. These analyses are important, Corso said, because they allow public health officials to compare the costs and benefits of two unrelated public health interventions. To assess reductions in quality of life, the team matched responses to a survey that assessed physical functioning, pain, cognitive functioning and social support with data from surveys that explicitly asked people how many years of life they would trade to be free of a given health condition. "For children and adults to live to their full potential, we must support programs that stop child maltreatment before it ever begins and work to help those who have already experienced it." The researchers also found significant differences among age groups, with the gap between the non-maltreated and maltreated group growing smaller---but never disappearing---in older age groups.
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